Latest Shipment Date, Shipment Date and Period for Presentation

A question from Jawad Ahmed, Pakistan, regarding the relationship between the latest date of shipment, the actual shipment date and the period for presentation under an LC.

Question

Dear Sir,

I hope you are doing well.

I wanted to ask regarding the subject matter. Can you please clarify Field 44C, i.e. the latest date of shipment, and the shipped on board date?

My second question is which date should be considered for the transport document presentation period?

For example, if the presentation period is 21 days, the latest shipment date is 15 September, the LC expiry date is 30 December, and the B/L date or shipped on board date is 20 August, then would this document be considered discrepant?

Looking forward to your reply.

Regards,

Jawad Ahmed
Pakistan

_______

Answer

Dear Jawad,

Thank you for your question.

There are three dates/concepts that should be distinguished here: the latest date of shipment, the actual date of shipment, and the expiry date of the credit.

1/ Latest date of shipment

According to the SWIFT Guide, Field 44C specifies the latest date for loading on board, dispatch or taking in charge, as applicable to the relevant mode of transport.

Therefore, the shipment must take place no later than the date specified in Field 44C. If shipment takes place after that date, the issuing bank may raise the discrepancy of “late shipment.”

2/ Shipped on board date

According to UCP 600 sub-article 20(a)(ii), the date of issuance of a bill of lading will be deemed to be the date of shipment unless the bill of lading contains an on board notation indicating the date of shipment. In the latter case, the date stated in the on board notation will be deemed to be the date of shipment.

Accordingly, where the B/L contains an on board notation dated 20 August, that date will generally be the relevant shipment date for determining the presentation period.

3/ Period for presentation

According to UCP 600 sub-article 14(c), a presentation including one or more original transport documents subject to UCP 600 articles 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 or 25 must be made by or on behalf of the beneficiary not later than 21 calendar days after the date of shipment, but in any event not later than the expiry date of the credit.

Please note that where an LC stipulates a shorter period for presentation, documents must be presented within that shorter period and, in any event, within the validity of the credit.

In your example:

• Latest date of shipment: 15 September
• Presentation period: 21 days after shipment
• LC expiry date: 30 September
• B/L/on board date: 20 August

Assuming the on board date of 20 August is the applicable shipment date under UCP 600, the 21-day presentation period expires on 10 September.

Since 10 September is earlier than the LC expiry date of 30 September, the documents must be presented no later than 10 September.

Therefore, if the documents are presented after 10 September, they would be discrepant for late presentation, even though the LC itself does not expire until 30 September.

The latest shipment date of 15 September is relevant to determining whether the shipment was made within the stipulated shipment period. It does not extend the presentation period calculated from the actual date of shipment.

Best regards,

Mr. Old Man